Laws should help us be good stewards

Published 12:45 pm, Monday, April 25, 2016

On Thursday a House subcommittee passed a bill that would let states determine how much trash it will accept into its landfills. What does this mean to Michigan? If the bill were to become law, it would mean our state could refuse trash from Canada and other states.

Our Michigan legislators were active in establishing portions of this bill, from states being able to reject Canadian trash shipments, to calling for EPA enforcement of a 1992 pact. Under that agreement, Canada must make the EPA aware of trash shipments. It also gives the EPA power to reject shipments for health or environmental concerns. The EPA hasn't been enforcing the agreement because officials say their power to do so was never approved by Congress.

In the end, this bill may not get very far. Plenty of debate awaits the issue of trade between states, among others. But the fact still remains that we have been held hostage by such laws, and it's time legislators gave a long hard look at what's on the books to protect our rights and our environment. If we can't control what kind of trash or how much trash enters our landfills, we are at a distinct disadvantage in the quest to be good stewards of our environment for future generations. And as far as we're concerned, that's a bunch of garbage.